Bobbin for winding thread on fish lures



Patented Jan. 4, 1944 UNITED'T STATES PATENT- OFFICE BOBBIN FOR WINDING THREAD N FISH LURES Walter L. Perkins, SpenceIfl'Mass. Application May 27, 1943, Serial No. 488,677

4 Claims.

This invention relates to bobbins for winding thread on fish lures, and more particularly to a bobbin adapted to be held in the hand and arranged for winding thread about a fish hook for holding feathers, hackle, hair, etc. in .place as required for making a desired type of fishing fly. A bobbin has been provided heretofore for this purpose in which a spool of thread has been loosely mounted on a spindle held in the hand and the tension of the thread has been manually controlled by pressure against the spool. It is desirable that the thread be held under a uniform but adjustable tension requiring no control on the part of the operator during use of the device. Also, the thread should not unwind when the bobbin is temporarily released from the grasp of the operator. It, moreover, is desirable to employ a spool of thread as obtained from the store so as to avoid the tedious labor of rewinding the thread on a spool held within the bob-.

bin. I a

It is one object of my invention to provide a bobbin for making fish lures which is simple in its construction and small and compact in size, so that it may be easily held within the palm of one hand during the operation of making the lure, and which is so constructed that it may be readily and efficiently used.

Another object is to provide a bobbin which permits the use of a supply spool of thread without a rewinding operation. i

, A still further object of the invention is to provide a device of this type whereinethe thread that is used for winding the lure may be held under any suitable tension which may be adjusted readily as desired and wherein the thread cannot unwind from the spool when the bobbin is temporarily released, so that the operator may employ both of his hands in arranging the hair and feathers preparatory to a further winding operation. Further objects will be apparent in the following disclosure.

Referring to the drawing which illustrates one embodiment of this invention: Fig. 1 is a central, sectional, substantially full size view of the device with a spool of thread ,zh d in position;

a chamber of a size and shape suitable for holding and concealing a standard spool of thread and keeping it out of contact with the hand of the user. The spool chamber may be formed as an. open ended cylindrical recess II in the end of the cylindrical portion of the bobbin, as illustrated,.which receives the spool in axial align-. ment with ,the recess axis. The bobbin tapers at the other end to form a substantially conicaltip [2 which may be moved closely around the fishv lure during a thread winding operation. The spool of thread l5 may be freely mounted within the recess, but it ispreferably removably held on a headed post I6 passing through the axial opening of the spool and adjustably and removably secured within a threaded hole I! tapped within the body in axial alignment with the recess ll. This post permits ready replacement of the spool. .One feature of this invention involves a friction'brake engaging the spool within the bobbin which, without manual effort on the part of the user of the bobbin, resists rotation of the spool when thethread is pulled and thus imparts a suitable tension-to the thread as it is wound on the fish hook.

Means is provided whereby the friction pressure may be adjusted to provide any desired tension. To this end, I employ a friction'dlsk or disks, such as metal washers loosely mounted on the post I6, which are held against the spool under a predetermined but variable pressure. As shown, a metal washer [8 may be provided to serve as a bearing between the spool and the base of the recess within the bobbin. Another metal washer l9 may be held against the outer end of the spool by means of a coiled compression spring 20 placed between that washer. and the head 2| of the post or screw I6. When the screw is threaded into its socket byapplying a screw driver to the head 2|, the tension of the spring 20 against the spool is increased to furnish the desired frictional resistance to the rota.- tion of the spool.

, The thread 24 is guided from the periphery of the spool to the'bobbin tip, and this guide may be shaped as a conduit which extends from near the middle portion of the spool to the tip. This-may comprise .a:.hole drilled through the bobbin or formed by suitably molding a plastic body. In the form illustrated, the conduit comprises an open ended pipe 25 having a smooth interior surface for carrying the thread. This pipe passes through a suitable hole fashioned in the bobbin. The pipe may be made of soft and bendable brass which may be readily bent as it is forced into the somewhat arcuate shaped hole in the bobbin, or the body l2 may be made of plastic molded around the pipe and associated parts. The outer end 21 of the pipe 25 may project at the apex of the cone of the bobbin and form the winding tip which is small and may be readily moved closely about a small sized fish hook. If desired, a set screw 28 may be threaded through a suitable opening inv the side of the conical portion of the bobbin, and this engages the pipe and helps to hold it rigidly in position.

The annular or hollow portion of the bobbin which carries the spool may have a slot 30 out therein parallel with the axis of the spool. The. upper end of the pipe 25 projects into this slot and preferably is located near the middle ofthe slot and at some distance from the periphery of. the spool. This permits unwinding the thread readily from the spool.

In its use, a standard spool of thread 15.. may: be mounted on the spindle t6, and the latter is screwed down until. the tension imposed on. the thread 24 by the spring pressed friction brake issufiicient to hold the spool from turning when the bobbin is suspended by means. of the thread. This insures that when the operator releases the bobbin and allows'it to hang from the fish. hook while the feathers and hair are being arranged thereon, the thread will not unwind. The-spring may be compressed to give even greater tension if" desired and depending upon the strength of the thread and the nature of the winding operation that is required for making a particular fishing fly. In its ordinary use, the bobbin is held concealed within the operators hand,. while with the other hand the operator holds the feathers and hair in place on the fish hook and the bobbin is moved around the fish hook soas to wind the thread in place. After sufi'icient thread has been wound on the hook, more thread may be drawn from the bobbin to provide three or four half hitches around. the stem of the hook. Thereafter the parts may be secured in position by means of an insoluble lacquer.

- In. this construction, the resistance to rotation of the spool isoonstant and the frictional force imparted by the brake is predetermined by the adjustment of the spring tensioning device." The tension does not depend upon any pressure of the hand against the thread or spool or any braking device, and it thus remains uniform so that the operator's whole attention may be given to the step of winding the thread in place. The construction is such that if a different size of thread is required for another fishing fly, then the spool may bevery quickly removed by simply unscrewing the screw I6 from its socket, and another spool may be readily put in place. The thread may be very quickly threaded through the-brass pipe 25 by means of aflexible needle or it may be sucked through by the-operator placing his mouth over the lower'end- 21 of the pipe and drawing thereon. The tension cannot be disturbed during the use of this device and the thread moves smoothly and easily under a controlled tension as required. Various other advantages will be apparent to one who is. skilled, in the art of making and using the various types of fish lures required for the differ ent fishing operations.

It will be appreciated in view of the above dis closure that various modifications may be made in the construction of this device and that the above description is to be interpreted as illustrating the principles of my invention and a preferred embodiment thereof and not as limitations on the appended, claims.

Having thus described. my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

A bobbin for winding a thread on a fish lure comprising a hollow body shaped to be held within the palm of the hand and having an open ended recess arranged to hold a spool of thread rotatively therein, said body having a tapered tip and a thread guide leading from adjacent the periphery of the spool to said tip which are so arranged that thread may be drawn freely from the spool and the tip revolved closely about the fish lure to. wind the thread thereon, and a. friction brake which imposes a predeterminedv constant. resistance to rotation of. the spool and thus holds the thread under tension. during a winding. operation.

2. A bobbin. for winding a thread on a fish lure comprising: a body shapedto be held within the palm of the. hand. and having a winding tip atone end. and an open ended recess arranged to receive. a. standard spool of thread, means. for rotatively and: removably supporting the spool within. the recess, a spring pressed. friction brake engaging the spool and imposing a uniform: resistance to rotation thereof, means to adjust the frictional resistance. of thebrake, and means providing a thread guide leading from adjacent the periphery of the spool to the winding tip, so that thread maybe wound on the lure under a v uniform. tension.

3. A bobbin for winding a thread on a fish lure comprising: a body shaped to be held within the. palm of the hand and having a tapered tip at one end and an open ended recess at the other end arranged to receive a standard spool of thread, a post removably and adjustably threaded into the body for rotatively supporting the spool within the recess, means providing a conduit for guiding the thread from the spool periphery to the tip, a friction brake engaging the spool and a coiled spring mounted on the post which holds the brake in place and imposes a constant resistance to rotation of the spool as. determined by adjustment of the post.

4. A bobbirr for winding a thread on a fish lure comprising a round body shaped to beheld in the palm of the'hand and tapering at one end toa. winding tip', a wall forming a chamber opening at the=opposite end from the tip which is: arranged to: receive a standard spool of thread and permit rotation thereof, said wall having a slot parallel with the spool axis, a conduit for the thread extending from the tip'to a position within the slot which serves to guide the thread from the spool, and: an adjustable friction brake which imposes a predetermined constant resistance to rotation of the spool when the thread is drawn therefrom...

WALTER L. PERKINS. 

